Rounding a copse of thick trees, I slowed as a beat-up pickup came into view. Just beyond where it was parked, my wolf’s eyes picked out the frame of a cabin. Its walls and roof sagged with age. One of the windows was broken.
From inside, I caught her scent.
And his.
I raced toward the door.
Something nipped at my heels, and I rounded violently, teeth snapping at the threat that had caught me off guard.
Another wolf, its eyes large and rounded in concern. I recognized the beast a split second before my canines closed around its throat.
Fucking Angus.
I sighed, wishing we could communicate, but that kind of mental connection only worked among pack members.
Reluctantly, I shifted back to two legs and Angus did the same. I didn’t dare speak. Not with Travis in there. Angus stared back at me, and I jerked my chin toward the cabin, baring my teeth to let him know there was a threat inside.
He nodded.
“I’ll bring Tobias,” he mouthed.
After a brief hesitation, I huffed out an acknowledgment and then watched as he shifted and ran off again. Tobias would be too late. And this far outside the borders, there wasn’t shit he could do to me for what was about to happen.
What Travis deserved.
I took a moment to appreciate that my friend, even after ten years, still showed up to have my back when I needed it. I owed that guy a beer or three when this was done. But that was for later. Right now, all that mattered was Cat.
Whatever lies I’d told myself earlier were just that, I realized now. If Cat thought she was running me off or refusing me, she had another thing coming. I wasn’t taking no for an answer. And I wasn’t leaving town ever again without her by my side. I’d found the woman of my dreams. And I wasn’t letting her go again.
Calling my wolf, I let it hover just below the surface of my skin, ready to burst forth the moment I needed it. Then, I walked up the rickety porch steps, slammed the door open, and stepped inside.
19
Cat
Travis pressed his crotch against me, his obvious bulge making me want to throw up as he rubbed his body against mine. Panic nearly paralyzed me at what he planned to do next, but I forced myself to remain present in the moment. It was the only chance I had for finding a way out.
“Mm. You smell so good, baby,” he whispered against my ear. “I want to bite that pretty little neck of yours.”
His lips brushed my throat again, and I cringed.
Feeling through the darkness, my palms met only the rough wooden planks of the walls. Moving higher, my fingers closed over some sort of décor hanging nearby.
A lantern maybe? Something with glass.
I grabbed it and, when it came free, brought it down hard over Travis’s head.
He yelled and jumped back, holding his eye.
I took off, feeling for anything that might trip me up as I hurried toward what I hoped was the door.
It flew open just as I reached it, revealing a large figure silhouetted against the night sky. I tried sidestepping the intruder at the last minute then shrieked as hands came up to grip my shoulders.
“It’s me, Cat. It’s okay.”
I nearly crumpled at the sound of East’s voice and instead plastered my body to his and hung on.
“It’s okay. I’m here.” His voice was like music to my ears. “Are you hurt?” he asks.
I shook my head, not trusting my own voice.
“Stay here.” He picked me up and set me aside just as Travis launched himself toward us.
I found myself outside on the sagging front porch and watched as East disappeared inside the cabin. A crash sounded, then another, followed by a menacing growl that was more wolf than human. Inching toward the open door, I peered in and strained to see what was happening.
“You’re going to pay for putting your hands on her.” East’s voice held a note of violence I’d never heard before, and I shivered with the promise of what he was going to do.
“Oh, it was more than hands, mutt.”
East growled and attacked.
Figures moved among the broken furniture. Thumps and thuds echoed between them as they knocked things out of the way to get closer. A punch was thrown, and I couldn’t be sure, but it looked like Travis went down on one knee.
One of the figures transformed from two legs to four. Then, the second one did the same.
My heart pounded as the two collided.
I wanted to believe East would be stronger than Travis, but worry kept me from feeling any kind of relief. The fight looked vicious even in the dark.
I had to help him.
Creeping back inside, I used the grainy light coming through the open door to find a piece of the chair I’d broken earlier when I fell. Gripping it in my hands, I inched closer to the fight.
Fur and claws flew as they came at each other again and again.
This close, it was easy to recognize East. His light gray coat contrasted with the shadows, but more than that, his wolf was much bigger than Travis’s wiry, brown frame.
Their next tumble nearly took me out. I leaped clear before a claw could slash through my skin then scrambled up onto the kitchen table. In high school, I’d secretly dreamed of becoming a werewolf like Easton. But I’d never wanted it more than I did in this moment.
To protect the man I loved.
East tossed me a look that I knew was meant to reprimand me. I didn’t need words to know he wanted me to get the hell out of here. But I wasn’t leaving without him. Instead, I hovered on top of the table, watching and waiting for some opening that I could use to help.
Travis’s claw buried itself in East’s throat and pulled. East’s fur tore, leaving a thin red line of blood.
“No!”
